Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius spent three days in Garden Grove to visit the city’s strong Vietnamese population.

Osius, the U.S.’s first openly-gay ambassador to serve in East Asia, participated in a Q and A during a town hall meeting and was greeted by members of the Vietnamese-American community, the City Council, and Mayor Bao Nguyen.

The Garden Grove Fire Department proved that it can save lives in multiple respects by participating in “Fill The Boot,” an international campaign to fund the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) continuous efforts to eradicate neuromuscular diseases, on Saturday, July 4.

Firefighters took to the streets around the Grove District-Anaheim Resort with their boots in hand and asked for donations from local motorists and passers-by.

This year’s “Fill The Boot” event raised over $9,000 in donations, surpassing last year’s total of $7,000.

Seventy-seven cents of every dollar donated goes directly to MDA research and programs, including summer camps for children and professional and public health education.